Over 100 Students from Priory Community School discovered the World or Work last week through a unique enrichment project held by Weston College.

The Year 9 pupils took part in several activities throughout the day to practice and develop their problem-solving, teamwork and communication skills. They also took part in a fun teambuilding task, the ‘Human Knot’, where they had to form a human knot and untangled themselves. This helped them understand the importance of teamwork in the workplace.

Students also had the opportunity to investigate a specific career area of interest, working in groups of 5-6 to research vocational areas across the College, touring departments such as Hair and Beauty, Finance, Sport and HR.

They were asked to research the role of the department, number of staff and individual responsibilities, relevant courses/qualifications and benefits of working at the College. In the afternoon session they designed a poster about their chosen career area and presented their findings to the rest of the group. The team with the best poster won a £5 WHSmith voucher each.

13-year-old Beth Lewis, who lives in Weston Village, said: “It was really good fun; the best part was the tour of the College which was brilliant and making our posters. I want to come to the College when I’m older to study law as I want to be a lawyer.”

Gareth Gilpin, also aged 13 of Worle, said: “I learnt a lot about different careers in business and it was really good fun. I want to come to the College and study ICT when I finish school.”

Ryan Bird, Progression Co-ordinator at the College, said: “The careers enrichment day was aimed at raising aspirations and career awareness with an emphasis on the importance of working as a team. We aimed to provide students with an introduction to the world of work and with so many career areas the College was an excellent place to start.”

Chris Gee, Head of Geography at Priory School, said: “All the students had a fantastic time and learnt a great deal about possible future careers. By the end of the session all students were able to identify the key aspects of team work.”

All students received a goody bag on their departure.